Cycling in London

Cyclists gathering outside the Palace of Westminster

Cycling in London is a cheaper, and often quicker, alternative to travelling around the city by public transport or car. The number of journeys made by bike has doubled from 2000 to 2012 and now stands at over 540,000 journeys a day.

History

Starting in the 1960s, Britain experienced a decline in utility cycling due to increasing wealth and affordability of motor vehicles and the favouring of vehicular traffic by planners. Cycling's comeback began in the 1970s when cycling advocates gained more concessions for cyclists and voiced ecological and social concerns about car use.

In 2007 there were more than 500,000 cycle journeys each day in the capital - a 91 per cent increase compared to 2000 - even though 2007 was England's wettest summer since 1912.

As of 2008 around 2 per cent of all journeys in London are by bike: this compares to other cities in the UK such as Cardiff (4.3 per cent), York (18 per cent) and Cambridge (28 per cent of commutes) and to cities on the continent such as Berlin (13 per cent), Munich (15 per cent), Copenhagen (23 per cent of all journeys / 36 per cent of commutes), Amsterdam (37 per cent of all journeys) and Groningen (57 per cent of all journeys).

In July 2010, 6,000 bicycles became available for short-term rental from Transport for London under the Barclays Cycle Hire at 400 docking stations in nine central London boroughs. This was later expanded to 8,000 cycles from 570 stations.

Conditions

London's main roads often have heavy, fast-moving traffic, although there have been efforts made by politicians for 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) maximum speed limits across the city. Many roads in London are lined with guard rail, and cyclist deaths have occurred when vehicles passing cyclists have crushed them against it.

Cycle lanes and paths

Main article: List of cycle routes in London

On-road cycle lanes vary. Some have raised concrete kerbs that separate the cyclist from the traffic, whilst others are defined by lines painted on the road surface. The Cycle Superhighways went into use in May 2010.

Cycle paths include routes through the royal parks (St. James's Park, Hyde Park, Regent's Park and Green Park), along the Thames Path and London's canals and waterways. There is a code of conduct for riding on London's towpaths.

It is legal to cycle in London's bus lanes.

A bike rack on a Thames Clipper commuter catamaran on the River Thames

On public transport

Full-size bicycles are not permitted in the tunneled sections of London Underground lines and the Docklands Light Railway, and are prohibited on all lines during rush hour. Bicycles are generally permitted on National Rail services and and at selected times on the London Overground. Folded bicycles may be carried on any public transport service. However, folding bicycles are allowed on all tube lines, trains and trams; they are also allowed on buses at the driver's discretion.

Bicycle parking facilities are available at many Underground, DLR, and main line railway stations.

Safety

Cycling in London is sometimes perceived as unsafe so the London Cycling Campaign and Transport for London issued guidance to minimise the risks.

A study of deaths of cyclists in London published in 2010 stated that "the biggest threat remains freight vehicles, involved in more than 4 out of 10 incidents, with over half turning left at the time of the crash." The London Cycling Campaign and others strongly recommend that cyclists should never undertake a lorry, especially in front of red lights.

Between 1986 and 2011, 439 cyclists were killed in traffic accidents in Greater London. The annual number of deaths varies considerably, for example, in 2004 only 8 cyclists died whilst one year later the number rose to 21. The worst year was 1989 with 33 fatalities. According to Andrei Morgan et al. (2010) "the number of cyclists killed in London remains small, meaning that even if trends were present, they may not have been detected."

The absolute number of deaths can be compared to the number of cycles on the road. The absolute number of bike journeys in London has roughly doubled since the 1990s, from 300,000 daily journeys in 1993 to 500,000 in 2007.

Andrei Morgan et al. (2010) estimate a "death rate per 100,000 cyclists per kilometre per year". This number came down significantly in recent years: In 2006 it was 11.1, while the average between 1992 and 1999 was 15.5. Morgan et al. estimate that this figure declined by 2.7% per year.

A map showing all cycling fatalities in Greater London since 2006 is available on the internet, as well as a spreadsheet containing publicly available information about the crashes.

Recent changes

The number cycling in the city of London has grown in recent years. For example, the introduction of two new "cycle superhighways" led to an increase of cycling numbers on those routes by 70% overall (one of the two routes actually doubled in numbers) within one year to 2010.

Growth is assisted by governmental encouragement of cycling and the construction of improvements to enable safe and efficient cycling. Other conditions are:

• Bicycle advocacy
• cost of public transport and running private cars, including the London congestion charge and petrol price increases.
• safer roads for cyclists, this includes allowing cycling in bus lanes, 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) default limits, and redesign of roads to make cycling safer.
• better support facilities, including parking spaces
• better bicycles and gear, including waterproof bags and panniers, better lighting
• concern over terrorism on public transport networks since the 2005 bombings

In 2009 London real estate agents reported that close-by bike paths and on-site bike parking facilities were influencing the decisions of prospective property buyers and tenants.

Future plans

Barclays Cycle Hire docking station in Southwark Street

Former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone set a target of a 400% increase in cycling between 2008 and 2025. On 9 February 2008 Livingstone announced an estimated £400 million of initiatives to improve and increase cycling and walking. To be co-ordinated by the TfL and London boroughs the aims include having 1 in 10 Londoners making a round trip by bike each day and five per cent of all daily trips by bike by 2025.

These initiatives include:

• The Mayor's Vision for Cycling in London : In March 2013 City Hall announced a sweeping range of improvements (costing close to £1 billion) to make cycling safer and easier in London, as well as improve air pollution and inner city congestion in the capital. Boris Johnson plans to build a 15 mile 'Crossrail for bikes' running from West London suburbs across the Westway, through Hyde Park, the Mall and then along the Victoria Embankment past Canary Wharf and into East London. Johnson, and his Cycling Commissioner, Andrew Gilligan, also plan to build a central London Bike Grid, a network of 'Quiteways' in Outer London, and provide E-Bikes for rents in hilly areas of the city. The London Cycle Hire Scheme has been described by the deputy mayor as 'oozing' out over London with expansion in 2014 in Hackney, Notting Hill, Hammersmith, Fulham and Wandsworth.

• Barclays Cycle Hire: From 2010, 6,000 bicycles were available for rental. The scheme, run by Montreal-based BIXI, will initially cover about 17 square miles (44 square kilometers) over nine central London boroughs, and will include 6,000 bikes and 400 docking stations. The docking stations will be at every 300m and mainly at key destinations and tube stations (but not at any train stations) in central London. There will be a charge for hire but there will be free use to encourage the scheme. The scheme was designed based on the feasibility study produced by German Dector-Vega and Charles Snead in Nov 2008.

• Extra cycle parking : There will be thousands of new bike parking facilities at train and tube stations.
• Cycle routes: New cycle routes from inner and outer London and cycle zones around urban centres will be established, the first by 2009. This will include 12 Cycle Superhighways across central London.; The firsts two pilot routes will be implemented by July 2010 and will go from Barking to Tower Hill in the East of London and from Colliers Wood to Bank in the North. The concept was designed by German Dector-Vega and will include the trial of cycle lanes through junctions (as in Denmark), convex mirrors at traffic signals to reduce the blind spot between lorries and cyclist (as used in Switzerland), new signage, and the re-design of some traffic junctions to improve safety among other things.
• Bike Zones: Throughout Greater London 15 Bike Zones will be created for shoppers and children going to school around "urban town centres". These areas will have cycle priority streets, 20 mph limits and "quick, clear and simple" routes along roads, through parks and alongside waterways. This will complement TfL's school cycle parking programme which was to add 5,000 cycle parking spaces in schools by 2005.

London Mayor Boris Johnson is considering schemes to allow cyclists to turn left at red traffic lights.

Regular events

London Freewheel 2008

• Mayor of London's Sky Ride: an annual event launched as London Freewheel in September 2007, for which certain roads in central London are closed to motor vehicles for several hours on a Sunday. On 10 August 2012 it was announced that the 2013 Skyride would be re-branded as 'RideLondon', a two-day 'World-class festival of cycling'. The event will incorporate an 8-mile 'Freecycle' event, 'Aimed at cyclists of all ages and abilities' on closed roads, as well as a 100-mile ride and a 'Grand Prix' event for professional cyclists. The 8-mile event on closed, flat London roads requires helmets to be worn.

• Critical Mass, which leaves the National Film Theatre on the South Bank around 7.00pm on the last Friday of each month

• World Naked Bike Ride, held annually in 70 cities in 20 countries, including London every June since 2004,

• Bike Week, an annual UK celebration of cycling with many local events in June

• London to Brighton ride for charity each summer; about 30,000 cyclists take part

• London to Paris rides for various charities

• Dunwich Dynamo, annual midsummer overnight ride to Suffolk since 1993

• London Cycling Awards: the London Cycling Campaign celebrates some of the best improvements for cyclists each year with the London Cycling Awards. 2008 winners included cycle parking at Frampton Park Estate in Hackney and at Shadwell DLR station; Kingston Council and Metropolitan Police for the Recycling Bikes Back Into The Community scheme; Newham University Hospital NHS Trust for the Well at Work project; STA Bikes and Hackney Council for Family Cycle Clubs; and Jenny Jones for services to cycling.

• Tweed Run, an annual ride inaugurated in 2009 where the participants recreate the early years of British cycling by wearing tweed and other period clothing and by riding vintage bicycles.

See also

• List of cycle routes in London
• Transport in London
• Cyclists' Touring Club
• Bicycle transportation engineering

Further reading

• Creating a Chain Reaction, The London Cycling Action Plan, February 2004
• Ballantine, Richard (2007). City Cycling. London: Snowbooks Ltd. ISBN 978-1-905005-60-4

External links

• Cycling | Transport for London
  • Free local cycle guides from Transport for London
• Sustrans
• The London Cycle Network
• London Cyclist Blog
• Cyclists in the City, critiques on the implementation of new bicycle infrastructure in London.
• Two Wheels Good, calls for greater political support for cycling in London.
• London Cycling Campaign
• Central London CTC
• Cycle Training in London
• Survey results: the truth about bikes in London, Time Out London, 18 July 2006